And the egg cups keep coming…

Yesterday I spent time online – both on eBay and Etsy – checking out egg cups. This can be a long, laborious process because there are lots and lots of them listed, which is probably why I don’t do it very often. There are indeed less and less vintage figurals, but I do  see them, so if you’re thinking of starting a collection, go for it. The great thing about egg cups is that they are very affordable and are usually priced between $5 – $10, depending on the age and rarity. Might I add that they take up very little space?

Oh, I almost forgot. I investigated freezing Mallomars and guess what? They can  be frozen. Guess where we’re going later today?

Here we go:

1.  A mama duck and her babies. I love the colors used on this one. It’s particularly sweet.  Marked Made in Japan.

2.  A Scottie dog egg cup. I’ve seen this egg cup in a white glaze, but I really like the yellow glaze and the blue collar, so I lucked out when I discovered this one. eBay, I believe. Marked Made in Japan.

3.  A bunny in front of a blue egg cup. Slightly mischievous look in the eyes, don’t you think? Marked Made in Japan.

4.  Egg cup with Bunny peeking around the side. Looks like he’s hiding from someone! Marked Made in Japan.

1.  One of my favorites. I’ve never seen it anywhere else, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not out there. Two dogs holding up an egg cup. I love the dogs, of course, but I particularly love the detail at the top. The vertical lines and dots are very Art Deco in feeling. Unmarked.

2.  A cute little pig with an egg cup on her head. Adorable. Marked with the number 10 in a circle and Japan.

3.  A particular favorite and another win after a crazy bidding war on eBay. This one is so lovely. A duck and a rooster on either side of the egg cup which is sitting on green grass. The colors and glaze are beautifully done. Marked Made in Japan.

These egg cups usually sit on the little shelves in the den and are some of my very favorites.

1.  I absolutely adore this one. A pig, napkin around his neck, ready to dine on an egg. Made for Tiffany by Elizabethan Staffordshire in England. Look at that face!

2.  The egg cup that has the greatest monetary value in my collection. There was a whole set of these egg cups made in the late thirties for Walt Disney Enterprises. They are very hard to find nowadays. My friend Nels, who has an unbelievable collection of egg cups, told me yesterday that a few years back, in the beginning days of eBay, the entire set of seven dwarfs and Snow White might sell for up to $2000. Nowadays, they usually go for $80 – $100 each. Nels also told me that these cups were giveaways in Canada to coincide with the release of the Disney movie – whether they were giveaways here, as well, I don’t know.

Anyway, I found Doc several years ago on eBay and I think I got him for about $50. I would absolutely love to amass the entire set. Maybe I will one day! Marked ©1937, W. D. Ent. Made in Japan.

3.  A little boy dressed as a cowboy. I love this guy. That face with the rosy cheeks is so sweetly painted. A reader once suggested that this one might actually be an English character instead of a little boy, so I checked my reference book (which is sort of the egg cup bible, if there is one) and it’s definitely a little boy with a cowboy hat. The same description is also to be found on other reference sites. (I love researching this stuff.) Marked Japan.

I lost him for a year or so, but didn’t know it. After an unfortunate incident where I hit my head on the shelves in my bedroom – the same incident that resulted in the broken Holt Howard rooster egg cup – this little guy rolled under our bed. But I didn’t know it at the time. A year later, I realized he was missing and began to search for him. It wasn’t until several days later that I thought to check under the bed, where he was found patiently waiting for me to put him back on the shelf.

Everything has a story.

Happy Friday.

Mallomars, our favorite cookie, are seasonal. They’re available only from September through March. In the days when there were no refrigerated trucks, the chocolate would melt, so shipping stopped in March. And for some reason, even though that is no longer an issue, the company continues that tradition.

Mallomars, by the way, are chocolate covered marshmallow cookies, with a little crust on the bottom. They are heavenly.

The other day we were in our local grocery store and, to our dismay, the space normally occupied by Mallomars was empty. We were quickly jolted into the realization that it was March. Oh no! Not deterred by this bit of news, we went on a reconnaissance mission yesterday and found some.

Don grabbed two boxes off the shelf. I quickly urged him to get four.

Here, he scans the immediate area, looking for any nefarious interlopers.

By the way, they were on sale.

On to egg cups:

Wooden egg cups, from left to right:

1.  Don and Scout bought this for me for my birthday. I’ve tried to track down some information on this one and am still searching. It’s marked Made in Japan and we think it’s from the forties. Edited to add: I just saw one like this on eBay – in its original packaging. Made for Woolworth’s (40s -50s) and it came with an egg warmer that was a white felt sailor cap! Wish I had the cap.

2.  A lovely single egg cup with a wood base and porcelain top. A gift from my mom. Stamped on bottom: Japan.

3.  A set of two wooden egg cups – a gift from Sandra, a dear reader of this blog. She found them at an estate sale. The eggs are salt and pepper shakers. Adorable.

1.  A bunny rabbit egg cup. This one is a special love of mine because it reminds me of Scout. The look in the eyes, the big pink ears, the adorableness.

2.  My very first egg cup. In fact, this egg cup is the one that inspired me to start collecting. It was a gift from my godparents when I was a little girl. Made for the Fannie Farmer chocolate company, this is one in a series of seasonal egg cups that were sold, usually with chocolates, at Easter time. Uh….we won’t say how old this one is. But it’s definitely vintage! And priceless.

3.  Two chicks on a seesaw. Marked Made in Japan.

4.  A rabbit standing outside his little house, complete with window and door. He’s smoking a pipe. Lustreware. Unmarked.

1.  A dog. Marked Made in Japan. Porcelain. (At any minute, I expect this guy to pull out a cigar to smoke.)

2.  A little girl in a bunny costume holding a polka dotted egg cup. Unmarked. Absolutely adorable.

3.  A bunny peeking around an egg cup house with window. This window motif shows up in a lot of figural egg cups. Made in Japan.

4.  One of my favorites. Two rabbits holding up an egg cup. Made in Japan. I distinctly remember sneaking out of our bedroom to bid on this one in the middle of the night.

Remember this one from yesterday?

The egg cup that is second from the end on the right – the brown transferware cup marked Mason’s Vista? As I looked at this photo yesterday I was struck by how lopsided it appeared, something I’d never noticed before.

Today I was looking in my egg cup reference book and saw this (in reference to Masons):

Many of their older cups may seem slightly lopsided, thus the old saying “If it rocks, it’s Masons.”

Aha! That explains it! I wasn’t seeing things.

I find this particular collecting passion of mine to be endlessly fascinating!

More tomorrow.

Happy Thursday.